Label reader for automatic drug compounder

ABSTRACT

An automatic drug compounder system may be provided with various components and capabilities for reconstituting a drug in a vial and providing the reconstituted drug to a receiving container. The system may include a camera for capturing images of the vial and processing circuitry for extracting information such as a lot number and an expiration date from the images. The system may rotate the vial while capturing the images to capture images of the entire vial. The processing circuitry may search a portion of the image for the lot number and expiration date, the portion based on stored information. The stored information may include a location, orientation, font size, or font color for printed information for a particular vial. The stored information may be retrieved based on a bar code read by the system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus thatreconstitutes, mixes, and delivers a drug from a vial to a receivingcontainer. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a vial labelreader for an automatic drug compounder.

BACKGROUND

Pharmaceutical compounding is the practice of creating a specificpharmaceutical product to fit the unique need of a patient. In practice,compounding is typically performed by a pharmacist, tech or a nurse whocombines the appropriate ingredients using various tools. One commonform of compounding comprises the combination of a powdered drugformulation with a specific diluent to create a suspended pharmaceuticalcomposition. These types of compositions are commonly used inintravenous/parenteral medications. It is vital that the pharmaceuticalsand diluents are maintained in a sterile state during the compoundingprocess, and there exists a need for automating the process whilemaintaining the proper mixing characteristics (i.e. certainpharmaceuticals must be agitated in specific ways so that thepharmaceutical is properly mixed into solution but the solution is notfrothed and air bubbles are not created). There exists a need for acompounding system that is easy to use, may be used frequently,efficiently, is reliable, and reduces user error.

SUMMARY

An automatic drug compounder system may be provided with variouscomponents and capabilities for reconstituting a drug in a vial andproviding the reconstituted drug to a receiving container. The systemmay include a camera for capturing images of the vial and processingcircuitry for extracting information such as a lot number and anexpiration date from the images.

In accordance with an embodiment, a compounder system is provided thatincludes a vial tray having a vial opening for receiving a vialcontaining a drug; a camera; a first motor configured to rotate the vialtray to move the vial to an imaging position; a second motor configuredto rotate the vial while the camera captures images of a label on thevial; and processing circuitry configured to extract a lot number and anexpiration date from the images.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method is provided thatincludes providing a vial having a label in a vial tray of a compoundersystem; moving the vial, with the vial tray, to an imaging location;rotating the vial while the vial is in the vial tray at the imaginglocation; capturing at least one image of the label while rotating thevial; and determining at least one of a lot number and an expirationdate from the at least one image.

In accordance with another embodiment, a compounder system is providedthat includes a carousel support frame configured to rotate a carouselof pump cartridges; a motor mounted to the carousel support frame; adrive mechanism configured to rotate the carousel; a vial trayinterposed at least partially between the drive mechanism and thecarousel support frame, wherein the drive mechanism is configured torotate the vial tray and the carousel; and a camera, wherein the camerais configured to capture images of a vial in the vial tray while themotor rotates the vial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide furtherunderstanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and together with thedescription serve to explain the principles of the disclosed.embodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of an example of anexemplary embodiment of a compounding system in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a front perspective view of the compounding system ofFIG. 1 with a transparent housing in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the compounding system of FIG. 1 withthe housing removed in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of apump drive mechanism in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exploded view of the pump drive mechanism of FIG.4 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an example of an exemplaryembodiment of a motor mount in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a rear perspective view of the motor mount of FIG. 6in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of the motor mount of FIG. 6 inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of acam housing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a rear perspective view of the cam housing of FIG. 9in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a rear perspective view of the cam housing of FIG. 9with the gears removed in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of apump head assembly in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of the pump head assembly of FIG.12 with an exemplary embodiment of a gripping system and vial puck inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of the pump head assembly,gripping system and vial puck of FIG. 13 in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates a rear perspective view of the pump head assembly,gripping system and vial puck of FIG. 13 in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of agripping system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates a rear perspective view of the gripping system ofFIG. 16 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates a side perspective view of the gripping system ofFIG. 16 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates a top plan view of the gripping system of FIG. 16 inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates a top plan view of the gripping system of FIG. 16 inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of thesteps of a process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of acartridge in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of acarousel with a cover in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 24 illustrates a front perspective view of another exemplaryembodiment of a compounding system in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 25 illustrates another front perspective view of the compoundingsystem of FIG. 24 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 26 illustrates a front perspective view of the compounding systemof FIG. 24 with portions of the housing removed in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 27 illustrates a rear perspective view of the compounding system ofFIG. 24 with portions of the housing removed in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 28 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the compoundingsystem of FIG. 24 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 29 illustrates a perspective view of the compounding system of FIG.24 with various components shown in enlarged views for clarity inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 30 illustrates a perspective view of a vial and carousel driveassembly for a compounding system in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 31 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the vial andcarousel drive assembly of FIG. 30 in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 32 illustrates a diagram of a vial having a label in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 33 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of thesteps of a process for reading a vial label in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 34 is a flow chart illustrating further details of an exemplaryembodiment of the steps of a process for reading a vial label inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below describes variousconfigurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology may bepracticed. The detailed description includes specific details for thepurpose of providing a thorough understanding of the subject technology.Accordingly, dimensions may be provided in regard to certain aspects asnon-limiting examples. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the subject technology may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well-known structures andcomponents are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the subject technology.

It is to be understood that the present disclosure includes examples ofthe subject technology and does not limit the scope of the appendedclaims. Various aspects of the subject technology will now be disclosedaccording to particular but non-limiting examples. Various embodimentsdescribed in the present disclosure may be carried out in different waysand variations, and in accordance with a desired application orimplementation.

The present system comprises multiple features and technologies that inconjunction form a compounding system that can efficiently reconstitutepharmaceuticals in a sterile environment and deliver the compoundedpharmaceutical to a delivery bag for use on a patient.

FIG. 1 illustrates a compounder system 10 according to an embodiment.FIG. 2 illustrates the system 10 with a transparent outer housing 12 andFIG. 3 illustrates the system with the housing removed. The systemcomprises a carousel assembly 14 that contains up to 10 individualcartridges 16. The carousel 14 can hold more or less cartridges 16 ifdesired. The cartridges 16 are disposable and provide unique fluid pathsbetween a vial 18 containing a powdered drug (or concentrated liquiddrug), multiple diluents, and a receiving container. The cartridges 16may, if desired, also provide a fluid path to a vapor waste container.However, in other embodiments, filtered or unfiltered non-toxic wastemay be vented from the compounder to the environment reducing oreliminating the need for a waste port. Each cartridge contains a pistonpump and valves that control the fluid intake, outtake, and fluid pathselection during the steps of the compounding process as the fluid movesthrough the cartridge and into a receiving container.

The carousel assembly 14 is mounted on the apparatus such that it canrotate to bring different cartridges 16 into alignment with the pumpdrive mechanism 20. The carousel 14 is typically enclosed within ahousing 12 that can be opened in order to replace the carousel 14 with anew carousel 14 after removing a used one. As illustrated, the carousel14 can contain up to 10 cartridges 16, allowing a particular carousel tobe used up to 10 times. In this configuration, each carousel assemblycan support, for example, 10 to 100 receiving containers, depending onthe type of compounding to be performed. For example, for hazardous drugcompounding, a carousel assembly can support compounding to tenreceiving containers. In another example, for non-hazardous drugcompounding such as antibiotic or pain medication compounding, acarousel assembly can support compounding to 100 receiving containers.The housing 12 also includes a star wheel 22 positioned underneath thecarousel 14. The star wheel 22 rotates vials 18 of pharmaceuticals intoposition either in concert with, or separate from, the specificcartridges 16 on the carousel 14. The housing 12 may also include anopening 24 for loading the vials 18 into position on the star wheel 22.

Each one of the cartridges 16 in the carousel 14 is a disposable unitthat includes multiple pathways for the diluent and vapor waste. Eachcartridge 16 is a small, single disposable unit that may also include a“backpack” in which a tube for connection to the receiving container(e.g., an IV bag, a syringe, or an elastomeric bag) may be maintained.Each cartridge 16 also may include a pumping mechanism such as a pistonpump for moving fluid and vapor through the cartridge 16 as well as aduel lumen needle in a housing that can pierce a vial puck 26 on top ofa vial 18 once the vial 18 has been moved into position by the pumpdrive mechanism 20. For example, the needle may pierce the vial puck 26via the compressive action of the vial puck 26, which is moved towardsthe needle. Each cartridge 16 also includes a plurality of portsdesigned to match up with the needles of a plurality of diluentmanifolds. Each cartridge 16 also includes openings to receive mountingposts and a locking bayonet from the pump head assembly 28. Although alocking bayonet is described herein as an example, other lockingmechanisms may be used to retrieve and lock a cartridge to the pump head(e.g., grippers, clamps, or the like may extend from the pump head).Each cartridge 16 also includes openings allowing valve actuators fromthe pump motor mechanism to interact with the valves on each cartridge16.

Adjacent the housing 12 that holds the vials 18 and the carousel 14 isan apparatus 30 for holding at least one container 32, such as an IV bag32 as shown in the figures. The IV bag 32 typically has two ports suchas ports 34 and 36. For example, in one implementation, port 34 is anintake port 34 and port 36 is an outlet port 36. Although thisimplementation is sometimes discussed herein as an example, either ofports 34 and 36 may be implemented as an input and/or outlet port forcontainer 32. For example, m another implementation, an inlet 34 forreceiving a connector at the end of tubing 38 may he provided on theoutlet port 36. In the embodiment shown, the IV bag 32 hangs from theholding apparatus 30, which, in one embodiment is a post with a hook asillustrated in FIGS. 1-3. One or more of the hooks for hangingcontainers such as diluent containers, receiving containers, or wastecontainers may be provided with a weight sensor such as a load cell thatdetects and monitors the weight of a hung container. The holdingapparatus 30 can take any other form necessary to position the IV bag 32or other pharmaceutical container. Once the IV bag 32 is positioned onthe holding apparatus 30, a first tube 38 (a portion of which is shownin FIG. 1) is connected from a cartridge 16 on the carousel 14 to theinlet 34 of the IV bag 32. For example, the first tube may be housed ina backpack attached to the cartridge and extended from within thebackpack (e.g., by an operator or automatically) to reach the IV bag 32.A connector 37 such as a Texium® connector may be provided on the end oftube 38 for connecting to inlet 34 of receiving container 32.

On the opposite side of the compounder 10 is an array of holdingapparatuses 40 for holding multiple IV bags 32 or other containers. inthe illustrated version of the compounder 10, five IV bags 42, 44 arepictured. Three of these bags 42 may contain diluents, such as saline,D5W or sterile water, although any diluent known in the art may beutilized. An additional bag in the array may be an empty vapor waste bag44 for collecting waste such as potentially hazardous or toxic vaporwaste from the mixing process. An additional bag 44 may be a liquidwaste bag. The liquid waste bag may be configured to receive non-toxicliquid waste such as saline from a receiving container. Liquid waste maybe pumped to the waste bag via dedicated tubing using a mechanical pump.In operation, diluent lines and a vapor waste line from thecorresponding containers 42 and 44 may each be connected to a cartridge16 through a disposable manifold.

The compounding system 10 also includes a specialized vial puck 26designed to attach to multiple types of vials 18. In operation, the vialpuck 26 is placed on top of the vial 18 containing the drug in need ofreconstitution. Once the vial puck 26 is in place, the vial 18 is loadedinto the star wheel 22 of the compounder 10. Mating features on the vialpuck 26 provide proper alignment both while the vial puck 26 is in thestar wheel 22 and when the vial puck 26 is later rotated into positionso that the compounder 10 can remove it from the star wheel 22 forfurther processing.

The pump drive mechanism 20 is illustrated in FIG. 4, and in an explodedview in FIG. 5, according to an embodiment. In the embodiment shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the pump drive mechanism 20 comprises a multitude ofsections. At one end of the pump drive mechanism 20 is the rotationhousing 46, which holds the drive electronics and includes lockingflanges 94 on its housing 96 for flexible tubing 50 which may run fromone or more diluent containers and/or waste containers to one or morecorresponding manifolds. The rotation housing 46 is capable of rotatingaround its axis to rotate the rest of the pump drive mechanism 20. Therotation housing 46 includes bearing ribs 52 on its ends which allow itto rotate. For example, the pump drive mechanism may be configured torotate through any suitable angle such as up to and including 180°, ormore than 180°.

Next to the rotation housing 46 is the motor mount 54, which is shownalone from various angles in FIGS. 6-8, according to an embodiment. Inthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-8, the cam housing 56, shown in furtherdetails from various angles FIGS. 9-11, is connected to the motor mount54, which includes cams and gears that control the rotary motion of themotors and the axial motion of the pump drive mechanism 20 as it movesinto position to pick up a cartridge 16 and a vial 18.

The compounder system also includes a diluent magazine (not shown) thatmounts in a slot 60 located on the side of the pump drive mechanism. Thediluent magazine may be a disposable piece configured to receive anynumber of individual diluent manifolds operable as diluent ports. Thediluent manifolds (not shown) may be modular so they can easily and.removably connect to each other, the magazine, and/or connect to thepump drive mechanism 20.

The final portion of the pump drive mechanism 20 is the pump headassembly 28. The pump head assembly 28 includes the vial grasping arms76, the vial lift 78, the pump cartridge grasp 80, the pump pistoneccentric drive shaft 82 with arm 222, the valve actuation mechanisms84, as well as the motors that allow the pump drive mechanism 20 to moveforward and back and to rotate in order to mix the pharmaceutical in thevial 18 once the diluent has been added to it. The compounder 10 mayalso include an input screen 86 such as a touch screen 86 as shown inthe figures to provide data entry by the user and notifications,instructions, and feedback to the user.

The operation of the compounder system 10 will now be generallydescribed in the flowchart illustrated at FIG. 21, according to anembodiment. In the first step 88, a user inserts a new diluent manifoldmagazine having a plurality of manifolds (e.g., diluent manifolds andwaste manifolds) into the slot 60 on the side of the pump head assembly28. Manifolds may be loaded into the magazine before or after installingthe magazine in the slot 60. The manifolds maintain needles inside thehousing of the manifold until the cartridge 16 is later locked in place.The magazine may contain any number of diluent manifolds and vapor wastemanifolds. In one illustrative system, there may be three diluentmanifolds and one vapor waste manifold. in the next step 92, diluenttubing is connected to corresponding diluent bags. The tubes may berouted through locking flanges on a surface (e.g., the front surface) ofthe compounder frame to hold them in place. For example, in theillustrated embodiment of FIG. 24, the tubes are held in place withlocking flanges 2402. on the frame of the compounder. Alternatively,other types of clips or locking mechanisms known in the art may be usedto hold the tubes securely in place. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 4, the additional flanges 94 positioned on the outside housing 96of the pump drive mechanism 20 are provided for securing internal wiringof the compounder. In the next step 98, waste tubing may be connected tothe vapor waste bag 44. In other embodiments, tubing may be pre-coupledbetween the manifolds and associated containers such as diluentcontainers and/or waste containers and the operations of steps 92 and 98may be omitted.

If desired, in the next step 100, a new carousel 14 may be loaded into acarousel mounting station such as a carousel hub of the compoundersystem. The carousel 14 may contain any number of disposable cartridges16 arranged in a generally circular array. In the next step 110, a vialpuck 26 is attached to the top of a vial 18 of a powdered or liquidpharmaceutical for reconstitution and the vial 18 is loaded into thestar wheel 22 under the carousel 14 in the next step 112. Step 110 mayinclude loading multiple vials 18 into multiple vial puck recesses instar wheel 22. After one or more vials are loaded into the star wheel,the vials are rotated into position to enable and initiate scanning ofthe vial label of each vial. In one embodiment, the user will be allowedto load vials into the star wheel until all vial slots are occupied withvials before the scanning is initiated. A sensor may be provided thatdetects the loading of each vial after which a next vial puck recess isrotated into the loading position for the user. Allowing the user toload all vials into the star wheel prior to scanning of the vial labelshelps increase the efficiency of compounding. However, in otherimplementations, scanning of vial labels may he performed after eachvial is loaded or after a subset of vials is loaded. Following thesesetup steps, the next step 114 is for a user to select the appropriatedosage on the input screen.

After the selection on the input screen 86, the compounder 10 beginsoperation 116. The star wheel 22 rotates the vial into alignment 118with the vial grasping calipers 76 of the pump head assembly 28. Thevial puck 26 includes, for example, gears that interface with gearscoupled to a rotational motor that allow the vial 18 to rotate 120 sothat a scanner (e.g., a bar code scanner or one or more cameras) canscan 122 a label on the vial 18. The scanner or camera (and associatedprocessing circuitry) may determine a lot number and an expiration datefor the vial. The lot number and expiration date may be compared withother information such as the current date, recall or other instructionsassociated with the lot number, compounder operators such as pharmacytechnicians (techs), inventory levels for that lot number, etc. In thisway, the lot number and/or expiration date from an imaged label can beused to support activities, such as productivity reporting. For example,the pharmacist can keyword search a particular lot number and see whichpharmacy techs have the most experience handling this particular type ofdrug. As another example, a pharmacist can search the hospital/pharmacyinventory database and determine an inventory level of drugs associatedwith this lot number and expiration date.

Once the vial 18 is scanned and aligned, in the next step 124 the pumpdrive mechanism 20 moves forward into position to grip the vial 18 withthe calipers 76. The forward movement also brings the mounting posts 130and locking bayonet 128 on the front of the pump head assembly 28 intomatching alignment with corresponding openings on a cartridge 16. In thenext step 126 the cartridge 16 is locked in place on the pump headassembly 28 with the locking bayonet 128 and the calipers 76 grip 132the vial puck 26 on the top of the vial 18. The calipers 76 then remove132 the vial 18 from the star wheel 22 by moving backward, while at thesame time pulling 134 the cartridge 16 off of the carousel 14.

In some embodiments, the cartridge 16 includes a backpack that includesa coiled tube. In this embodiment, in step 136 the pump drive mechanism20 tilts the cartridge 16 toward the user to expose the end of the tubeand prompts 138 the user to pull the tube out of the backpack andconnect it to the receiving bag 32. In an alternative embodiment, thetube 38 is exposed on the side of the carousel 14 once the cartridge 16is pulled away from the carousel 14. In another alternative embodiment,the tube 38 is automatically pushed out (e.g., out of the backpack) thusallowing the user to grab onto the connector located at the end of thetube and connect to the receiving container. The system prompts 138 theuser to pull the tube out from the carousel 14 and connect it to theinput 34 of the IV bag 32. Once the tube 38 is connected, in step 140the user may notify the compounder 10 to continue the compoundingprocess by interacting with the input screen 86.

At step 142, the vial 18 is pulled up towards the cartridge 16 so thatone or more needles such as a coaxial dual lumen needle of the cartridge16 pierce the top of the vial puck 26 and enter the interior of the vial18. Although the example of FIG. 21 shows engagement of the needle withthe vial puck after the user attaches the tube from the cartridge to thereceiving container, this is merely illustrative. In another embodiment,steps 138 and 140 may be performed after step 142 such that engagementof the needle with the vial puck occurs before the user attaches thetube from the cartridge to the receiving container.

Diluent is pumped 144 into the vial 18 through the cartridge 16 and afirst needle in the proper dosage. If necessary, a second or thirddiluent may be added to the vial 18 via a second or third diluentmanifold attached to the cartridge 16. Simultaneously, vapor waste ispumped 144 out of the vial 18, through a second needle, through thecartridge 16 and the vapor waste manifold, and into the vapor waste bag44. The valve actuators 84 on the pump head assembly 28 open and closethe valves of the cartridge 16 in order to change the fluid flow pathsas necessary during the process. Once the diluent is pumped into thevial 18, the pump drive mechanism 20 agitates the vial 18 in the nextstep 146 by rotating the vial lift 78 up to, for example 180 degreessuch that the vial 18 is rotated between right-side-up and upside-downpositions. The agitation process may he repeated for as long asnecessary, depending on the type of pharmaceutical that is beingreconstituted. Moreover, different agitation patterns may be useddepending on the type of drugs being reconstituted. For example, forsome drugs, rather than rotating by 180 degrees, a combination offorward-backward, and left-right motion of the pump head may beperformed to generate a swirling agitation of the vial. A plurality ofdefault agitation patterns for specific drugs or other medical fluidsmay be included in the drug library stored in (and/or accessible by) thecompounder control circuitry. Once the agitation step is complete, thepump drive mechanism rotates the vial to an upside down position orother suitable position and holds it in place. In some embodiments, afluid such as a diluent already in the receiving container 32 may bepumped (e.g., through the cartridge or via a separate path) into aliquid waste container to allow room in the receiving container forreceiving the reconstituted medicine.

In the next step 148, the valve actuators 84 reorient the valves of thecartridge and the pumping mechanism of the cartridge 16 is activated topump 150 the reconstituted drug into the receiving bag 32 through theattached tube. Once the drug is pumped into the receiving bag 32, in thenext step 152 the pump drive mechanism 20 clears the tube 38 by eitherpumping filtered air or more diluent through the tube 38 into thereceiving bag 32 after another valve adjustment to ensure that all ofthe reconstituted drug is provided to the receiving bag 32. In somescenarios, a syringe may be used as a receiving container 32. Inscenarios in which a syringe is used as the receiving container 32,following delivery of the reconstituted drug to the syringe, a vacuummay be generated in tube 38 by pump drive mechanism 20 to remove any airor other vapors that may have been pushed into the syringe so that, whenthe syringe is removed from tube 38, the reconstituted drug is read fordelivery to a patient and no air or other unwanted gasses are present inthe syringe.

The system then prompts 154 the user to remove the tube 38 from thereceiving container 32. The user may then insert the connector (e.g., aTexium® or SmartSite® connector) into its slot in the backpack orcarousel and an optical sensor in the pump head may sense the presenceof the connector and automatically retract the tube into either thecarousel or the backpack. The tube is pulled back into either thecarousel 14 or the backpack, depending on which type of system is inuse. In the next step 156, the compounder 10 rotates the vial 18 backinto alignment with the star wheel 22 and releases it. The usedcartridge 16 may also be replaced on the carousel 14. The used cartridgemay be released when a sensor in the pump drive determines that the tubehas been replaced in the cartridge (e.g., by sensing the presence of aconnector such as a Texium® connector at the end of the tube in thebackpack of the cartridge through a window of the cartridge). Thecarousel 14 and/or star wheel 22 then may rotate 158 to a new unusedcartridge 16 and/or a new unused vial 18 and the process may bereplicated for a new drug. In some circumstances (e.g., multiplereconstitutions of the same drug), a single cartridge may be used morethan once with more than one vial.

The cartridges 16 are designed to be disposable, allowing a user toutilize all the cartridges 16 in a given carousel 14 before replacingthe carousel 14. After a cartridge 16 is used, the carousel 14 rotatesto the next cartridge 15, and the system software updates to note thatthe cartridge 16 has been used, thus preventing cross-contamination fromother reconstituted drugs. Each cartridge 16 is designed to contain allthe necessary flow paths, valves, filters and pumps to reconstitute adrug with multiple diluents if necessary, pump the reconstituted druginto the receiving container, pump vapor waste out of the system into awaste container, and perform a final QS step in order to make sure thatthe proper amount of drug and diluent is present in the receivingcontainer. This complete package is made possible by the specific andunique construction of the cartridge 16, its flow paths, and its valveconstruction.

An embodiment of a cartridge 15 is illustrated in FIG. 22. As shown inFIG. 22, cartridge 16 may include a cartridge frame 150, a cartridgebezel 164, as well as a piston pump 166, a needle housing 158 and aneedle assembly 170. The cartridge frame 160 provides the main supportfor each cartridge 16 and includes diluent chambers, a vapor wastechamber, a pumping chamber, a hydrophobic vent, an exit port, and/orother features as described hereinafter that can be connected to a tubethat connects to the receiving container 32.

The frame 160 of the cartridge 16 also includes locating features thatallow each cartridge 16 to be removably mounted to the pump headassembly 28. These features include, for example, three openings 198 toreceive mounting posts 130 from the pump head assembly 28, and a keyhole210 that allows a locking bayonet 128 to be inserted therein and turnedto lock the cartridge 16 to the pump head assembly 28 for removal fromthe carousel 14. An outlet port extension 220 may he present in someembodiments. The piston pump 166 is mounted within a chamber with a rod194 positioned within a silicone piston boot. Furthermore, the bezel 164includes openings 228 in which the valves 190 of the sealing membraneare located and be accessed by the valve actuators 84. Moreover, thebezel 164 includes openings 230 that allow a fluid manifold to beconnected to the diluent and vapor waste chambers in the cartridge 16.Bezel 164 may also include an opening that facilitates the detection ofa connector (e.g., a Texium® or SmartSite® connector) when the userinserts the connector into the provided slot when compounding iscomplete. In operation, the needles of the fluid manifold enter throughthe openings 230 in the bezel 164 and pierce the sealing membrane togain fluidic access to the diluent and vapor waste chambers defined inthe cartridge 16 between the sealing membrane and the cartridge frame160. Further details of various embodiments of the cartridge 16 will bediscussed hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 23, an exemplary embodiment of a carousel 14 removedfrom the compounder 10 is illustrated, according to an embodiment. Thecarousel 14 of FIG. 23 includes an array of ten cartridges 16 in thisembodiment, but it should he understood that more or fewer cartridges 16can be present on the carousel 14, leaving some of the carousel 14pockets 500 empty, or the frame 510 of the carousel can be designed tohave more or fewer cartridge pockets 500. The carousel 14 also includesa cover 511 that prevents a user from accessing the tubes coupled toeach of the cartridges 16 directly. The cover 511 may be removed ifnecessary to access the backs of the cartridges 16. in the exampleimplementation of FIG. 23, a connector such as a Texium® attachment 548is disposed adjacent each cartridge 16, the attachment 548 beingattached to the tube 38 that runs from the extension 220 on eachcartridge 16.

FIGS. 24-29 show the compounder 10 according to another embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 24, holding apparatus 40 may be implemented as an extendedarm providing support for mounting devices for each of containers 42 and44. Holding apparatus 40 and holding apparatus 30 may each include oneor more sensors such as weight sensors configured to provide weightmeasurements for determining whether an appropriate amount of fluid hasbeen added to or removed from a container or to confirm that fluid isbeing transferred to and/or from the appropriate container (e.g., thatthe appropriate diluent is being dispensed). A scanner 2404 may beprovided with which each diluent container and/or the receivingcontainer can be scanned before and/or after attachment to compounder10. As shown in FIG. 24, a carousel cover 2400 and tube managementstructures 2402 may also be provided on compounder 10 in variousembodiments. For example, tubes connected between containers 42 and/or44 and corresponding manifolds can each be mounted in a groove of tubemanagement structure 2402 to prevent tangling or catching of the tubesduring operation of compounder 10.

As shown in FIG. 25, an opening 2502 may be provided by which vials 18can be installed in the star wheel. Additionally, an exterior pump 2500may be provided for pumping non-toxic liquid waste from, for example,receiving container 32 to a waste container 44 (e.g., for pumping adesired amount of saline out of receiving container 32 quickly andwithout passing the liquid waste through a cartridge and/or otherportions of the compounder).

A fluidics module 2504 may be provided that includes several containermounts 2506. Container mounts 2506 may be used for hanging diluent andwaste containers and may include sensor circuitry for sensing when acontainer has been hung and/or sensing the weight of the container. Inthis way, the operation of compounder 10 can be monitored to ensure thatthe correct diluent contain has been scanned and hung in the correctlocation and that the waste is being provided in an expected amount tothe appropriate waste container.

As shown in FIG. 26, pump 2500 and display 86 may be mounted to achassis 2600. Pump drive 20 may be mounted partially within the chassis2600 with pump head assembly 28 extending from the chassis to a positionwhich allows the pump head assembly to rotate (e.g., to turn over oragitate a vial). Carousel 14 is also shown in FIG. 26 without anycartridges mounted therein so that cartridge mounting recesses 500 canbe seen.

Star wheel 22 (sometimes referred to herein as a vial tray) is shown inFIG. 26 with several empty vial puck recesses 2604. Vial tray 22 may berotated and an actuating door 2608 may be opened to facilitate loadingof vials 18 into the vial puck recesses 2604 in vial tray 22. In someembodiments, door 2608 may be closed before rotation of vial tray 22 toensure that the operator's fingers are not in danger of injury from therotating tray. However, this is merely illustrative. In otherembodiments a sensor such as sensor 2650 (e.g., a light curtain) may beprovided instead of (or in addition to) door 2608 to sense the presenceof an operator in the vicinity of tray 22 and prevent rotation of thetray if the operator or any other obstruction is detected.

Similarly, a lid may be provided for carousel 14 to preventcontamination of cartridges 16 loaded therein, and to prevent injury toan operator due to rotation of the carousel. A lid sensor (not shown)may also be provided to detect the position (e.g., an open position or aclosed position) of the lid. Rotation of carousel 14 may be prevented ifthe lid is not detected in a closed position by the lid sensor.

Each vial 18 that is inserted may be detected using a sensor such assensor 2652 (e.g., a load sensor or an optical sensor) when placed in avial puck recess 2604. When detected, the inserted vial may be moved toa scanning position by rotating vial tray 22 and then the inserted vial18 may be rotated within its position in vial tray 22 using a vialrotation motor 2602 to allow the vial label to be scanned.

A reverse perspective view of compounder 10 is shown in FIG. 27 in whichscanning components can be seen. In particular, a camera 2700 is mountedin an opening in chassis 2600 and configured to view a vial 18 in ascanning position. Motor 2502 may rotate vial 18 through one or morefull rotations so that camera 2700 can capture images of the vial label.In some embodiments, an illumination device 2702 (e.g., a light-emittingdiode or other light source) may be provided that illuminates vial 18for imaging with camera 2700.

As shown in FIG. 27 one or more gears 2704 coupled to motor 2502 may beprovided that engage corresponding gears on a vial puck 26 to which avial 18 is attached at the scanning position. The vial tray 22 may berotated so that the vial puck gears engage the rotation motor gears sothat when the motor 2502 is operated the vial 18 is rotated.

FIG. 27 also shows how a magazine 2706 containing one or more manifoldsmay be mounted in a recess in pump head assembly 28. A magazine slot inmagazine 2706 for the vapor waste manifold may be keyed to preventaccidental connection of a diluent manifold in that slot (or a wastemanifold in a diluent slot in the magazine). Other diluent slots inmagazine 2706 may have a common geometry and thus any diluent manifoldcan fit in the magazine diluent slots. One or more manifold sensors suchas manifold sensor 2750 (e.g., an optical sensor) may be provided in themanifold recess in pump head assembly 28. Manifold sensor 2750 may beconfigured to detect the presence (or absence) of a manifold in amanifold recess (slot) in magazine 2706 to ensure that an appropriatemanifold (e.g., a diluent manifold or waste manifold) is loaded at theexpected position for compounding operations. In this way, the pump headmay detect a manifold presence. The pump head and/or manifold sensorsmay communicate with the diluent load sensors to ensure properpositioning of the diluent manifolds. Various operational components2708 such as valve actuators, needle actuators, mounting posts, alocking bayonet, and a drive pin can also be seen extended from pumphead assembly 28 which are configured to secure and operate a pumpcartridge 16.

An exploded view of various components of compounder 10 is shown in FIG.28. Components discussed above such as display 86, pump 2500, dosehanger 30, fluidics module 2504, pump drive 20 with pump head assembly28, camera 2700, and lighting device 2702 are shown. Additionalcomponents such as a chassis base 2810 and chassis housing 2812 ofchassis 2600 are also shown in FIG. 28. A rear panel 2802 having anelectronics assembly 2803 can be mounted to chassis housing 12 and pumpdrive 20 may be seated in an opening 2808 in chassis housing 2812 thatallows pump head assembly 28 to protrude from chassis housing 2812.Processing circuitry for managing operations of compounder system 10 maybe included in electronics assembly 2803.

A vial tray and carousel drive assembly 2800 is also shown in whichactuating door 2608 and a carousel hub 2814 can be seen. Carousel 14 maybe placed onto carousel hub and rotated by vial tray and carousel driveassembly 2800 operating to rotate hub 2814 to move a selected cartridgein the carousel into position to be retrieved and operated by pump drive20. Vial tray and carousel drive assembly 2800 may include separatedrive assemblies for the vial tray and for the carousel such that vialtray 22 and carousel 14 may be rotated independently.

FIG. 29 shows another perspective view of compounder 10 highlighting thelocations of various particular components such as the carousel 14 withcartridges 16 mounted therein, a cartridge 16 having a backpack 2900, avial puck 26 for mounting vials 18, and pump head assembly 28 with adiluent magazine 2706 containing a plurality of manifolds 2906 inaccordance with an embodiment. Further features of the systems andmethods for reading labels of vials 18 placed in the vial tray 22 (e.g.,for determining the lot number and expiration dates of medicines) willbe described hereinafter in connection with FIGS. 30-34.

Turning now to FIG. 30, a perspective view of a vial and carousel driveassembly 3000 is shown, according to an embodiment. In the example, ofFIG-. 30, vial tray 22 has been rotated so that a vial 18 is in animaging position 3001 at which the label on the vial may be imaged. Inthe imaging position 3001, gears 3002 of the vial puck that is attachedto the vial 18 are engaged with gears 2704 of motor 2602. In this way,motor 2602 can be operated to rotate vial 18 while vial 18 is in thevial puck recess of vial tray 22 at the imaging position. While motor2602 rotates vial 18, a camera such as 2700 (see, e.g., FIGS. 27 and 28)may capture images of the label on vial 18. A light source such as lightsource 2702 may be operated to illuminate at least a portion of thelabel while the images are captured. Light source 2702 may be aline-wise light source configured to illuminate a vertical line on thevial while the vial is rotated so that each captured image includes animage of a vertical line on the vial. The vertical line images may becombined using processing circuitry associated with the camera and/orprocessing circuitry such as one or more processors for the compoundersystem to form a rectilinear image of the entire vial label. Forexample, the processing circuitry for processing and extractinginformation from images may be formed as hardware or software as part ofelectronics assembly 2803 of FIG. 28.

FIG. 31 shows an exploded perspective view of the vial and carouseldrive assembly 3000. As shown in FIG. 31, assembly 3000 may include acarousel support frame 3106 on which the carousel hub 3814 and vial spindrive 2602 are mounted and that includes legs 3106. Assembly 3000 mayalso include a drive mechanism 3104 having one or more additional motorssuch as motor 3108 configured via a plurality of gears and/or belts toactuate door 2608, rotate vial tray 22, and/or rotate carousel hub 2814to rotate a carousel of cartridges mounted thereon. As shown, vial tray22 may be disposed at least partially between carousel support frame3100 and drive mechanism 3104.

As shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, carousel hub 2814 may have a polygonalshape. Carousel 14 may be provided with a central opening having acorresponding polygonal shape so that, when carousel 14 is placed ontocarousel hub 2814 and carousel hub 2814 is rotated, the carousel iscorrespondingly rotated. However, this is merely illustrative. Carouselhub 2814 may be provided with other shapes such as a “D” shape or anyother suitable shape that corresponds to the shape of the centralopening in carousel 14 such that, when carousel 14 is placed ontocarousel hub 2814 and carousel huh 2814 is rotated, the carousel iscorrespondingly rotated. As shown in FIG. 31, drive mechanism 3104 mayhave an extension 3114 that extends into carousel hub 2814 to rotate huh2814 responsive to operation of a motor of drive mechanism 3104.

FIG. 32 shows an example of a vial 18 having a label that may be readusing camera 2700, light source 2702, and vial spin drive 2602. As shownin FIG. 32, vial 18 may include a label 3200 having a bar code 3201 andadditional information represented in text such as a lot number 3202 andan expiration date 3204. In various circumstances, it may be importantto check the lot number and/or the expiration date of a drug in vial 18before performing reconstitution or compounding operations. For example,drug recalls can be issued based on lot number. Compounder system 10 maytherefore be configured to read the lot number from each vial placed invial tray 22 and to check whether the lot number is associated with arecall prior to using the drug in the vial. In another example,compounder system 10 may be configured to read the expiration date fromeach vial placed in vial tray 22 and to check whether the expirationdate has passed (e.g., by comparing the expiration date with the currentdate).

As shown, a bar code 3201 may also be provided on label 3200. Bar code3201 may include coded information related to the drug in the vial suchas a manufacturer or a drug name, however, the bar code typically doesnot include the lot number and expiration date which are printed in texton the label. However, the text size, text color, font, location, andorientation at which the lot number and expiration date are printed onthe vial label can vary from drug to drug and from manufacturer tomanufacturer.

For example, lot number 3202 and expiration date 3204 of FIG. 32 areoriented along the x axis (e.g., horizontally on the vial) and offset inthey direction (e.g., vertically offset). However, this is merelyillustrative. In various scenarios, lot number 3202 and expiration date3204 may be oriented horizontally and offset horizontally, orientedvertically and offset horizontally, oriented vertically and offsetvertically, or otherwise oriented and offset. Moreover, in the exampleof FIG. 32, lot number 3202 and expiration date 3204 are located at thebottom of the label 3200. However, this is also illustrative and lotnumber 3202 and expiration date 3204 can be located at various positionson the label. Moreover, lot number 3202 and expiration date 3204 may beprinted on the label using various fonts, font sizes, font colors, andany of various formats.

For example, in FIG. 32, the lot number is indicated using thecharacters “LOT:” and has a format with numbers and letters separated byhyphens. However, the lot number indicator and format can vary frommanufacturer to manufacturer. Similarly, the expiration date isindicated using the characters “EXP:” and has a format of a singlestring having a 2-digit date, a three-letter month, and a four-digityear. However, the expiration date format can also vary frommanufacturer to manufacturer. Due to these variations of the lot number3202 and expiration date 3204 printed on a label disposed on typicallyrounded vials, compounder system 10 provides the particular advantage ofbeing able to extract the lot number and expiration date from images ofa vial captured while rotating the vial. Further features of the lotnumber and expiration date extraction systems and methods of compoundersystem 10 are discussed hereinafter in connection with the flowcharts ofFIGS. 33 and 34.

Illustrative operations that may be performed for reading a label on avial in the compounder system 10 are shown in FIG. 33.

At block 3300, one or more images may be acquired (captured) from alinescan camera such as camera 2700. Camera 2700 may be configured as alinescan camera by including a line-wise array of image pixels in thecamera or by providing a substantially square pixel array and aline-wise illumination source that illuminates a vertical strip on thevial. Capturing the images may include providing a vial having a labelin a vial tray of a compounder system, moving the vial, with the vialtray, to an imaging location, rotating the vial while the vial is in thevial tray at the imaging location, and capturing at least one image ofthe label while rotating the vial.

At block 3302, various image processing operations may be performed onthe captured images. The image processing operations may include imagecombination operations in which linescan images are combined to form arectilinear image of the entire label. The image processing operationsmay also include applying one or more filters to the linescan images orthe combined image (e.g., a cropping filter, a contrast filter, asharpen filter, a noise filter, or other filters that might facilitateoptical character recognition in the images).

At block 3304, a label barcode may be read. Reading the label barcodemay include reading the label barcode using the image of the label orusing a barcode scanner in the compounder.

At block 3306, optical character recognition (OCR) operations may beperformed to determine a lot number (LOT) and an expiration date (EXP)for the vial from the captured images. The OCR operations may beperformed on the whole label image or a portion of the label image inwhich the lot number and expiration date are expected to appear. Theexpected location may be determined, for example, based on the barcode.For example, the manufacturer of the drug in the vial may be determinedfrom the barcode. The system (e.g., processing circuitry of the system)may access a database of label information associated with each ofvarious manufacturers. In one example, the system may determine that,for a particular manufacturer, the lot number and expiration date areprinted in red text at the bottom of the label in 8 point font andoriented and offset horizontally. The OCR operations may then includeperforming OCR operations that are informed by the label information(e.g., by searching for characters in 8 point red font, horizontallyoriented, and only in a portion of the image at the bottom right cornerof the label image). In this way, a compounder system with efficient andaccurate verification operations for each vial can be provided.

In some scenarios, the barcode information may be unavailable ornon-existent. In such scenarios, the entire image may be searched andused for OCR operations and/or an expected location may be determinedbased on the known vial type and/or manufacturer (e.g., based oninstructions provided by the compounder system to a user to insert anexpected vial type or based on a known drug being reconstituted). Insome embodiments, when a particular compounder system determines thelocation, orientation, font size, font, font color, orientation, orother aspects of a label for a particular manufacturer, the system maystore that label information for later access and/or may provide thelabel information to a network of compounder systems for use by thosesystems in later compounding operations.

At block 3308, one or more captured images of the label may be storedand archived as a record of the use of that vial for a particularcompounding operation. The images may be archived in connection withidentifying information of the receiving container that received areconstituted drug from the vial.

Further details of operations that may be performed for reading a lotnumber and/or bar code from a vial label are shown in FIG. 34.

At block 3400, a vial barcode may be read as discussed herein.

At block 3402, a compounder system may determine whether the readbarcode is in a database of known barcodes (e.g., a database of thecompounder system or a database of a network of compounder systems suchas a cloud-based database accessible via a network by multiplecompounder systems).

If it is determined at block 3402. that the barcode is in the database,label information associated with that barcode (e.g., a stored locationassociated with the known barcode) may be accessed and, at block 3406,the system may search for the expiration date and/or lot number at thestored location in a captured label image.

If it is determined at block 3402 that the barcode is not in thedatabase, at block 3404 the system may search for the expiration dateand/or lot number over the entire captured label image.

At block 3408, it may be determined whether the expiration date and lotnumber read was successful (e.g., whether the expiration date and lotnumber were read from the label image with a confidence score above aconfidence threshold).

If it is determined at block 3408 that the read was successful, at block3420, in addition to performing compounding operations with the vial ifthe lot number and expiration date are acceptable, the system may storelabel information such as updated target text information to a databasea local database of the compounder system or a network database). Atblock 3422, the system may complete operations for that vial.

If it is determined at block 3408 that the read was not successful, atblock 3410, a display of the system may be used to provide the labelimage to a user and to provide instructions to the user asking the userto highlight an area of the label image having the lot number and/orexpiration date using the display screen (e.g., display screen 86 ofFIG. 1 or FIG. 24).

At block 3412, the system may search for the expiration date and/or lotnumber at the location indicated by the user in the captured labelimage.

At block 3414, it may be determined whether the expiration date and lotnumber read in the user-specified location was successful (e.g., whetherthe expiration date and lot number were read from the label image with aconfidence score above a confidence threshold).

If it is determined at block 3414 that the read was successful, at block3420, in addition to performing compounding operations with the vial ifthe lot number and expiration date are acceptable, the system may storelabel information such as updated target text information to a database(e.g., a local database of the compounder system or a network database).At block 3422, the system may complete operations for that vial.

If it is determined at block 3408 that the read was not successful, atblock 3416, the lot number and expiration date may be manually enteredby the user (e.g., responsive to a prompt to the user on the display toenter the lot number and expiration date manually).

At block 3418, the system may optionally search the image for the text(e.g., the lot number and the expiration date) that the user entereduntil the entered values are found. The optional additional search maybe performed to confirm the user's entry and/or to obtain search and OCRparameters to facilitate future label searches. At block 3418, the foundvalues and any search and/or OCR parameters such as image filteringoperations used to find the user-entered values may be stored (e.g.,locally or on a network database) to facilitate future searches.

The subject technology is illustrated, for example, according to variousaspects described above. Various examples of these aspects are describedas numbered concepts or clauses (1, 2, 3, etc.) for convenience. Theseconcepts or clauses are provided as examples and do not limit thesubject technology. It is noted that any of the dependent concepts maybe combined in any combination with each other or one or more otherindependent concepts, to form an independent concept. The following is anon-limiting summary of some concepts presented herein:

Concept 1. A compounder system, comprising:

a vial tray having a vial opening for receiving a vial containing adrug;

a camera;

a first motor configured to rotate the vial tray to move the vial to animaging position;

a second motor configured to rotate the vial while the camera capturesimages of a label on the vial; and

processing circuitry configured to extract a lot number and anexpiration date from the images.

Concept 2. The compounder system of Concept 1 or any other Concept,further comprising a light source configured to illuminate at least aportion of the vial at the imaging position.Concept 3. The compounder system of Concept 2 or any other Concept,wherein the light source comprises a line-wise light source.Concept 4. The compounder system of Concept 1 or any other Concept,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to read a barcode in the images.Concept 5. The compounder system of Concept 4 or any other Concept,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine anexpected location of the lot number and the expiration date based on thebar code.Concept 6. The compounder system of Concept 5 or any other Concept,wherein the processing circuitry is configured to extract the lot numberand the expiration date from the images using the expected location.Concept 7. The compounder system of Concept 6 or any other Concept,further comprising at least one gear coupled to the second motor,wherein the at least one gear is configured to engage a correspondinggear on a vial puck attached to the vial to rotate the vial.Concept 8. A method, comprising:

providing a vial having a label in a vial tray of a compounder system;

moving the vial, with the vial tray, to an imaging location;

rotating the vial while the vial is in the vial tray at the imaginglocation;

capturing at least one image of the label while rotating the vial; and

determining at least one of a lot number and an expiration date from theat least one image.

Concept 9. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, wherein movingthe vial comprises rotating the vial tray.Concept 10. The method of Concept 9 or any other Concept, whereinproviding the vial in the vial tray comprises placing a vial puckattached to the vial in a vial puck recess in the vial tray.Concept 11. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, whereincapturing the at least one image comprises:

capturing a plurality of line scan images while the vial is rotated; and

combining the plurality of line scan images to form a rectilinear imageof the entire label.

Concept 12. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, furthercomprising:

reading a barcode in the at least one image;

obtaining label information associated with the bar code, wherein thelabel information comprises a location, a text size, and an orientationof the lot number and the expiration date on the label; and

performing optical character recognition operations on a portion of theat least one image corresponding to the location to read the lot numberand the expiration date.

Concept 13. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, furthercomprising:

following determining the at least one of the lot number and theexpiration date from the at least one image, providing a location, atext size, and an orientation of the lot number and the expiration dateon the label to a network of compounder systems.

Concept 14. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, furthercomprising determining whether any recalls exist that are associatedwith the lot number.Concept 15. The method of Concept 14 or any other Concept, furthercomprising, if no recalls exist, reconstituting a drug in the vial withthe compounder system.Concept 16. The method of Concept 15 or any other Concept, furthercomprising archiving the at least one image in association withinformation for the reconstituted drug.

Concept 17. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, furthercomprising performing image processing operations on the at least oneimage.

Concept 18. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, furthercomprising, displaying a rectilinear image of the label.Concept 19. The method of Concept 8 or any other Concept, furthercomprising storing the lot number in association with a pharmacy tech oran inventory update.Concept 20. A compounder system, comprising:

a carousel support frame configured to rotate a carousel of pumpcartridges;

a motor mounted to the carousel support frame;

a drive mechanism configured to rotate the carousel;

a vial tray interposed at least partially between the drive mechanismand the carousel support frame, wherein the drive mechanism is furtherconfigured to rotate the vial tray; and

a camera, wherein the camera is configured to capture images of a vialin the vial tray while the motor rotates the vial.

Concept 21. The compounder system of Concept 20 or any other Concept,further comprising processing circuitry configured to extract at leastone of a lot number and an expiration date from the images.Concept 22. The compounder system of Concept 21 or any other Concept,further comprising a display, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to (a) prompt a user to select a portion of the images withthe lot number or the expiration date and (b) determine the lot numberand the expiration date based on the user selected portion of theimages.

The present disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein The disclosureprovides various examples of the subject technology, and the subjecttechnology is not limited to these examples. Various modifications tothese aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andthe generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects.

One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described hereinmay be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof. Forexample, infusion pump systems disclosed herein may include anelectronic system with one or more processors embedded therein orcoupled thereto. Such an electronic system may include various types ofcomputer readable media and interfaces for various other types ofcomputer readable media. Electronic system may include a bus, processingunit(s), a system memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a permanent storagedevice, an input device interface, an output device interface, and anetwork interface, for example.

Bus may collectively represent all system, peripheral, and chipset busesthat communicatively connect the numerous internal devices of electronicsystem of an infusion pump system. For instance, bus may communicativelyconnect processing unit(s) with ROM, system memory, and permanentstorage device. From these various memory units, processing unit(s) mayretrieve instructions to execute and data to process in order to executevarious processes. The processing unit(s) can be a single processor or amulti-core processor in different implementations.

A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “oneand only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.”Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one ormore. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine andneuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings andsubheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit theinvention.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example orillustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects or designs. In one aspect, various alternative configurationsand operations described herein may be considered to be at leastequivalent.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series ofitems, with the term “or” to separate any of the items, modifies thelist as a whole, rather than each item of the list. The phrase “at leastone of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, thephrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of theitems, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or atleast one of each of the items. By way of example, the phrase “at leastone of A, B, or C” may refer to: only A, only B, or only C; or anycombination of A, B, and C.

A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations.An aspect may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspectmay refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. A phrase such as an“embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment is essential to thesubject technology or that such embodiment applies to all configurationsof the subject technology. A disclosure relating to an embodiment mayapply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments. An embodiment mayprovide one or more examples. A phrase such an embodiment may refer toone or more embodiments and vice versa. A phrase such as a“configuration” does not imply that such configuration is essential tothe subject technology or that such configuration applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to aconfiguration may apply to all configurations, or one or moreconfigurations. A configuration may provide one or more examples. Aphrase such a configuration may refer to one or more configurations andvice versa.

In one aspect, unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values,ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that areset forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow,are approximate, not exact. In one aspect, they are intended to have areasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which theyrelate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps, oroperations in the processes or methods disclosed are illustrations ofexemplary approaches. Based upon implementation preferences orscenarios, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps, operations or processes may be rearranged. Some of the steps,operations or processes may be performed simultaneously. In someimplementation preferences or scenarios, certain operations may or maynot be performed. Some or all of the steps, operations, or processes mayhe performed automatically, without the intervention of a user. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various steps,operations or processes in a sample order, and are not meant to belimited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112 (f) unless the element isexpressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of amethod claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”Furthermore, to the extent that the term “include,” “have,” or the likeis used, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar tothe term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

The Title, Background, Summary, Brief Description of the Drawings andAbstract of the disclosure are hereby incorporated into the disclosureand are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not asrestrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding thatthey will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. inaddition, in the Detailed Description, it can be seen that thedescription provides illustrative examples and the various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The followingclaims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

The claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects describedherein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage claims and to encompass all legal equivalents. Notwithstanding,none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails tosatisfy the requirement of 35 USC. § 101, 102, or 103, nor should theybe interpreted in such a way.

What is claimed is:
 1. A compounder system, comprising: a vial trayhaving a vial opening for receiving a vial containing a drug; a camera;a first motor configured to rotate the vial tray to move the vial to animaging position; a second motor configured to rotate the vial while thecamera captures images of a label on the vial; and processing circuitryconfigured to extract a lot number and an expiration date from theimages.
 2. The compounder system of claim 1, further comprising a lightsource configured to illuminate at least a portion of the vial at theimaging position.
 3. The compounder system of claim 2, wherein the lightsource comprises a line-wise light source.
 4. The compounder system ofclaim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to reada bar code in the images.
 5. The compounder system of claim 4, whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to determine an expectedlocation of the lot number and the expiration date based on the barcode.
 6. The compounder system of claim 5, wherein the processingcircuitry is configured to extract the lot number and the expirationdate from the images using the expected location.
 7. The compoundersystem of claim 6, further comprising at least one gear coupled to thesecond motor, wherein the at least one gear is configured to engage acorresponding gear on a vial puck attached to the vial to rotate thevial.
 8. A method, comprising: providing a vial having a label in a vialtray of a compounder system; moving the vial, with the vial tray, to animaging location; rotating the vial while the vial is in the vial trayat the imaging location; capturing at least one image of the label whilerotating the vial; and determining at least one of a lot number and anexpiration date from the at least one image.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein moving the vial comprises rotating the vial tray.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein providing the vial in the vial tray comprisesplacing a vial puck attached to the vial in a vial puck recess in thevial tray.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein capturing the at least oneimage comprises: capturing a plurality of line scan images while thevial is rotated; and combining the plurality of line scan images to forma rectilinear image of the entire label.
 12. The method of claim 8,further comprising: reading a barcode in the at least one image;obtaining label information associated with the bar code, wherein thelabel information comprises a location, a text size, and an orientationof the lot number and the expiration date on the label; and performingoptical character recognition operations on a portion of the at leastone image corresponding to the location to read the lot number and theexpiration date.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:following determining the at least one of the lot number and theexpiration date from the at least one image, providing a location, atext size, and an orientation of the lot number and the expiration dateon the label to a network of compounder systems.
 14. The method of claim8, further comprising determining whether any recalls exist that areassociated with the lot number.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising, if no recalls exist, reconstituting a drug in the vial withthe compounder system.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprisingarchiving the at least one image in association with information for thereconstituted drug.
 17. The method of claim 8, further comprisingperforming image processing operations on the at least one image. 18.The method of claim 8, further comprising, displaying a rectilinearimage of the label.
 19. The method of claim 8, further comprisingstoring the lot number in association with a pharmacy tech or aninventory update.
 20. A compounder system, comprising: a carouselsupport frame configured to rotate a carousel of pump cartridges; amotor mounted to the carousel support frame; a drive mechanismconfigured to rotate the carousel; a vial tray interposed at leastpartially between the drive mechanism and the carousel support frame,wherein the drive mechanism is further configured to rotate the vialtray; and a camera, wherein the camera is configured to capture imagesof a vial in the vial tray while the motor rotates the vial.
 21. Thecompounder system of claim 20, further comprising processing circuitryconfigured to extract at least one of a lot number and an expirationdate from the images.
 22. The compounder system of claim 21, furthercomprising a display, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to(a) prompt a user to select a portion of the images with the lot numberor the expiration date and (b) determine the lot number and theexpiration date based on the user selected portion of the images.